Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, speaks on stage during the call for Vanity Fair’s new annual summit of new establishments.
Matt Winkelmeyer | Getty Images
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said Monday that the uprising at the U.S. Capitol last week was largely organized on other Internet services, not Facebook.
“We re-eliminated QAnon, Proud Boys, Stop the Steal, everything that was taken about possible violence last week,” Sandberg said in a live interview with Reuters. “Our app is never perfect, so I’m sure there are still things on Facebook. I think these events were largely organized on platforms that don’t have our capabilities to stop hatred, they don’t have our standards and they don’t have our transparency. “
But there were still plenty of groups who were able to post on Facebook about the assault on the Capitol building before the riots last week. For example, CNBC found that the Facebook group for political action committee The Black Conservatives Fund asked its 80,000 followers to march on the Capitol on January 5, the day before the riots. The group withdrew the post after an investigation by CNBC.
Sandberg added that the company continues to work to find any mention that may be related to the insurgency and eliminate it. Sandberg’s comments come after Facebook last week announced it would suspend President Donald Trump indefinitely and at least until President-elect Joe Biden takes over the oval office.
“We don’t plan to lift it,” Sandberg said. “This showed that even a president is not above the policies we have.”
Sandberg was also asked about his future with the company after the New York Times in July 2020 reported that he had been out of the company after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had taken a more practical approach to relationships. of the company with Washington lawmakers. This was a function that previously belonged to Sandberg’s jurisdiction of the company.
“I’m staying,” Sandberg said, adding that he loved his job. “People love headlines about corporate drama and I think it’s fair to say they especially love headlines about the marginalization of women, but I feel tremendously lucky to have this job.”